McCollester, Butts help keep Henderson spotless in division

WEST CHESTER—With all the runs being scored in the Ches-Mont League this season, Friday afternoon’s National Division showdown between Downingtown East and West Chester Henderson was something of an anomaly—agood old fashioned pitcher’s duel.

The Cougars’ Casey Thompson and the Warriors’ Lauren Butts matched each other nearly pitch-for-pitch, but a key Heidi McCollester hit for Henderson proved the difference in a 2-1 victory.

“I hadn’t seen that pitcher (Thompson) before, and really didn’t know much about her,” said W.C. Henderson coach Sarah Norris. “But after just watching her warmup, I said ‘this is going to be a pitcher’s duel.’”

Butts collected the complete-game win, allowing one run on four base hits. She struck out 10 and issued a pair of walks. The Henderson defense had an erroless outing.

“I know that my defense is going to have my back,” said Butts. “That gives me the confidence that I pitch my game and not worry so much about what pitch I’m throwing.”

Thompson, meanwhile, was nearly Butts’ equal, going six strong. Thompson allowed a pair of runs on five hits, striking out eight without walking a single batter.

“There might have been a couple plays we could have come up with one defense,” said Cougars’ coach Mike Morgan. “But overall, Casey pitched a nice game, and we played well overall.”.

Both runs came in the second inning. Kristen Golden got things going with a bloop single just beyond short to leadoff. Then, with one out, Shannon Gray reached on an infield single down the third-base line, but was erased on a force when Lauren Friedman hit a ground ball to short.

After Friedman moved up sixty feet with a stolen base to make it second and third, McCollester stepped up to the plate. The catcher, who belted a long flyball out in her first at-bat, this time just ripped a liner up the middleto score both runners.

“I have been struggling a bit lately, so it meant a lot to me to be able to come through here in a situation where my teammates really needed it,” said McCollester. “They were playing me deep all day, so this one just got down in front of them.”

McCollester might have delivered the two-RBI single, but Norris points to the hitters earlier in the inning.

“Without Kristen, Shannon and Lauren getting on base ahead of her, Heidi doesn’t get the chance to knock in the runs,” she said.

The Cougars were playing McCollester and Miranda Mikelson deep, and it was by design.

“We respect what those two can do with the bats,” said Morgan. “We were happy to keep 28 (McCollester) and 6 (Mikelson) in the park.”

East answered right back with a run of its own in the top half of the fourth. Renae Petrucci led off with a single to right to bring up Sara Ercolani, who drilled a ball down the left-field line, beyond the Henderson defense, came in with a standup triple and score Petrucci easily.

“We had our opportunities, but we didn’t take advantage of enough of them,” said Morgan. “Henderson capitalized on the chances they had, and they came up on top this time.”

Henderson is now sitting at 10-0 in the Ches-Mont as the season approaches the halfway mark. They have a two-game on West Chester East and three on Downingtown East (7-3) and West.

“This was another test for us and we passed one more time,” said Norris. “But now, we’re going to start seeing teams a second time, and they are going to be better prepared for us. We’re going to have a target on our backs. But this team is mentally tough and I think we’ll be ready for that.”